Language Balance in the Charts: Why Ukrainian Songs Still Sound in English

Why Ukrainian artists sing in a foreign language.

Since 2022, Ukrainian music has strengthened its position — songs have appeared on charts, playlists, and social media, and listeners inside the country have deliberately turned away from Russian content. According to data from the study 'Music Has Power,' the share of Ukrainian-language songs in Ukrainians' playlists grew from 34% in 2022 to 57% in 2024–2025.

You'd think Ukrainian would have cemented itself as the dominant language. Yet English hasn't disappeared from Ukrainian artists' releases and remains a noticeable part of the musical landscape. Even performers who made their name with Ukrainian-language hits, like Ziferblat or Max Barskih, still turn to English-language releases.

Why this happens — read on in this DeTalks article.

English-Language Ukrainian Songs as a Path Abroad

One reason for this linguistic diversity is the drive to reach an international audience, since English remains the universal language of the global music industry. Songs in a foreign language are easier for listeners in Europe and the US to take in, and easier to pitch to festivals and international platforms.

As explained by Hit FM, English 'opens doors to new fans' and creates opportunities to take part in major events like Eurovision or SXSW. On top of that, English fluency significantly simplifies communication with foreign managers, producers, and agents.

For many artists, it functions as a tool: 'Ukrainian for the home audience, English for reaching beyond the border.'

The Influence of Platforms and Algorithms

Streaming platforms are also one of the factors shaping current music trends. Services like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube operate within a global digital environment, where English-language content gets broader representation in international playlists and roundups (per the IFPI Global Music Report and Spotify for Artists).

How music spreads on these platforms largely depends on algorithmic recommendation systems, which analyze user behavior, content's language parameters, and its past engagement numbers. How these algorithms work affects how actively a track gets recommended to audiences outside its country of origin.

According to data from the study 'Music Has Power,' Ukrainians mostly listen to music online: YouTube and YouTube Music together account for over 50% of the audience, Spotify for about 20%, and Apple Music for 12%. At the same time, 79% of Ukrainians continue to listen to English-language music, even despite the sharp rise in Ukrainian-language content.

When Singing in English Became a Strategy

For some bands, English-language releases have become part of a long-term strategy. The Hardkiss, for instance, regularly release songs in English, consistently building an image as a band aimed at the international stage. Their single "Tenderness", released in September 2025, is a deeply personal, emotional track, but its lyrics are deliberately presented in English.

That choice lets them convey intimate experiences to a global audience, for whom English serves as a universal emotional code. Even visually, the music video continues the band's recognizable aesthetic — a mix of black-and-white and color scenes — underscoring the story's borderless character.

TVORCHI follow a similar logic. From their earliest releases, the band has actively incorporated English-language tracks, which has helped them expand their audience beyond Ukraine and create a musical product that matches global standards in the electronic and indie-pop scene.

Streaming Economics Favors English

Ukrainian songs are sung in English partly because of streaming platforms' economic model. Spotify and other services don't pay a fixed amount per stream: each country has its own revenue pool, made up of subscription and ad income, which gets distributed among artists proportionally to their stream counts.

In countries with higher listener spending power, that pool is significantly larger than in Ukraine, so streams from abroad can bring in more revenue. English, meanwhile, simplifies access to an international audience and dominates most global playlists, which account for a large share of streaming listens.

So the choice to sing in English becomes an economic adaptation to the global music market for Ukrainian artists, rather than a question of cultural identity.

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